The Wheel and Axle

Perth Paradise

From Bacolod very early Sunday, we made our way south via a 5-hour bus ride to Sipalay, a coastal city (don’t expect a Manila or even a Bacolod) home to some lovely scenic waters: beaches, lagoons, marshes, and the like. The resorts here are ubiquitous, one after the other.

Hiring a tricycle, we made our way to Tinagong Dagat Resort and the popular Perth Paradise Resort for some sightseeing. Both are open to day tourists who either want to just see the views or do some swimming. Tinagong Dagat’s view of its inland waters is good, but Perth Paradise’s view of islets that are reminiscent of the Bohol Chocolate Hills is spectacular.

(continue reading…)

During our transit in Bacolod on Saturday, we also made our way to the popular Ruins in nearby Talisay City. Known as the “Taj Mahal of Negros,” this famous tourist site has a romantic and tragic history behind it.

Built in 1920 by the wealthy sugar plantation haciendero Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, it was meant to be for his first wife, Maria Braga. However, she passed away before the mansion was even completed… and she had been pregnant with their eleventh child at the time of her death.

(continue reading…)

Welcome to the City of Smiles!

Next stop on our Negros road trip was Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental and known as The City of Smiles.

We went there on Saturday, coming from Lakawon Island, and checked into Planta Centro Bacolod. It was a last minute hotel choice; we booked it as we were literally getting off the bus. Every other place we tried contacting was fully-booked, from hostels to more upscale places. Nonetheless, Planta was a serendipitous choice, a quaint plantation-themed hotel with reasonable prices and which was quite cozy. Given that Negros is known for sugarcane plantations that stretch back to yesteryear, it helped make us feel the Bacolod spirit even more.

(continue reading…)

Lakawon Island in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental is just around 1.5 hours from Bacolod by land (plus a 10-15 minute boat ride). The private island is starting to gain attention because the place is beautful and is fairly accesible. The beach, while not Boracay or Palawan, has some good sand and the waters are fairly clear and lovely.

(continue reading…)

Yes, that’s my beautiful mother when she won her crown.

I’ve always been a Mama’s Boy. Now, as I’m all grown up and adulting, I may not be as clingy as I was when I was a little boy who absolutely could not go anywhere without his Mama.

Still, how could I ever not love the woman who not only gave birth to me but who raised us all as a working mom?

That, and the fact that she won a beauty pageant when she was in high school.

Okay, granted it was a local one.

But as a friend once accurately put it, a crown is still a crown. Haha.

Also, beauconera si mudra. Alam na. Haha.

(continue reading…)

One month to go!

Looks like Warner Bros. is now overcompensating making up for the purported barebones marketing for Wonder Woman for which they were criticized by the internet last week.

Of course, it’s also true that perhaps, after the debacle regarding the over-saturation of Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad marketing last year which included the spoiler of Doomsday in BvS, they’re trying to practice some restraint. That’s good, but restraint doesn’t mean there should be a huge drop in Wonder Woman visibility so close to the release date.

(continue reading…)

Yesterday, being a member of Babaylanes, Inc. (the alumni organization of UP Babaylan), I joined a meeting of various LGBT groups and allies. A number of these groups were part of the umbrella LGBT network Lagablab, including my two aforementioned orgs, although there were also plenty of representatives from non-Lagablab groups. There were also non-affiliated individuals. We all had one goal.

The meeting was held as a forum on what we as a community can further do to lobby support for the Anti-Discrimination Bill. As I’d previously noted, this important piece of legislation has been in congress for some time now, and the most recent version is the furthest the bill has made it so far. Of course, this being Philippine politics and all, interpellations kept on getting delayed and delayed until Congress went on hiatus in March.

(continue reading…)

And these taxi companies have the gall to say Uber and Grab are taking away business from them. Reality check: TNVs provide the service that taxis have been unable to.

If the idiot taxi operators want their business to go up again, then they better start ridding themselves of these thugs and hooligans.

(continue reading…)

I posted this on my personal Facebook account a year ago today. This was my tribute to a woman who helped raise me. It has been a year since she passed away, and I still miss her.

Not half an hour ago, I received a message from my mother telling me that my Manang Carmen, who was my yaya/nanny when I was growing up, has passed away.

Manang Carmen was my second mother. I was always close to my mom, but she was a breadwinner of the family and was always busy at work. So for the times Mama wasn’t around, Manang was always there. She’d always been there since I was literally a baby.

(continue reading…)

Mmm. Monday. Mmm. Michael.

A few months old, but still a great way to start the week.